Would you choose:
- Ice cream – strawberry or chocolate?
- Cake or pie?
- Sweet or salty?
- Cry or yell?
- Formal or casual?
- Brand name or knock-off?
- Sedan or SUV?
- Nordstrom or Wal-mart?
- Beach or mountains?
It’s fun to fire off answers like this, and I love to learn about each other by sharing our preferences and inclinations. Try it some day when you make a new friend; it’s especially fun in a group!
I ran across this verse recently and it was one of those times the words seemed stand up and jump off the page at me:“I have inclined my heart to perform Thy statutes forever, even to the end.“ Psalm 119:112
We do not often use the phrase “inclined my heart”, yet it’s something we actually do on a regular basis. Inclined means to stretch or spread out, as in pitching a tent. Do you get the picture? To incline our hearts would be to extend, to offer, cause to yield. Sometimes in an audience we’ll “give it up” for a performance we enjoyed. Every time we make a decision or exercise a choice, we “incline our hearts.”
Although we may not typically use the words of this expression, we repeatedly “incline our hearts” in many ways every day. Much of the time, we are not even aware of the inclination, because the choice may have been made in our minds long before. So the inclination is the default. No choice has to be made in the moment because it was made far in advance. The inclination defaults to the previously-made decision.
For the psalmist to state, “I have inclined my heart to perform your word forever,” is to say, “I’ve made up my mind–I’m determined–to live for You, God, forever.”
In almost every use in the Bible, the words heart and mind are interchangeable. So to “incline my heart” is the same as “I made up my mind.”
One of my favorite stories about making up our minds is when Daniel “purposed in his heart he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies…” Daniel 1:8. Daniel had already inclined his heart to remain healthy, so when he was offered unhealthy choices, there was no decision to be made–his default was determined in advance.
Mary the mother of Jesus modeled this beautifully when she found out she was with child, that child being the Son of God. Her life turned on a dime when the angel delivered that message to her. Her words reflect her heart: “I am the bondslave of the Lord; Be it done to me just as you have said.“ (Luke 1:38) She defaulted to obedience because she had already determined to love God with all her heart.
Like the Psalmist, both Daniel and Mary had inclined their hearts to follow the ways of God. They “pitched a tent” in their inner beings, making space for God, yielding their own wills to God’s will.
What was true of them is true for us as Christ-followers: God’s Son has been born into us through the direct act of God. The verse just prior to our key verse beautifully states, “I have inherited Thy testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart.” (Psalm 119:111) God is committed to us forever! We participate with his powerful and eternal work in us when we incline our hearts to receive his will.
It’s an Initial Inclination followed by Intentional Inclinations to remain open to God moment by moment. Following the lifestyles of Daniel and Mary, we watch them continuously spreading out that place in their hearts, opening up space for God.
To what or to whom is your heart inclined today? Where does your default land? Have you inclined your heart to make space for God, forever, until the end of your life?
If you do not know how to go about inclining your heart, get in touch with me–I can guide you there!